Tough Summer

Seal in the kitty basket

Indy in the greenhouse

Lenny trying to mess with Sebastian.

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted until I actually went to the blog to enter this post. Yikes it has been months!

News-wise it was a rough summer. I lost two of my kittens from last September and my Indy cat was a victim of a hit-and-run driver. Losing Seal and Lenny was hard but losing Indy was especially difficult. She was the one who would sit on my lap and begin nursing on my clothes. I wouldn't be paying her any attention and when I would get up from the chair I would have a large soggy spot on my clothes. She was my shadow. (sigh)

The super early spring/summer we experienced messed up my garden plans, as it did most gardeners. Such a crazy season. I learned quite a bit about using my greenhouse. This was first season using one and there is a learning curve. Working full-time makes it hard to keep the temperature regulated. When I work 12-8 it's not too big a deal to check the thermometer and make adjustments. The days I work 8:30-5:00 are a little more tricky. I must come home on my lunch hour to unzip the mesh covered windows, doors and if it is really warm roll up the sides.

My peach tree had an abundance of fruit but I was only able to enjoy one peach (which was fabulous) because someone waited until the peaches were dead ripe then stole every last one of them. Angela and I had planned to make a small batch of peach jam to give as Christmas presents. The loss made me mad then made me sad.

The little fig trees have held their own. They are still pretty small but considering the weather I felt just staying a live was quite a coup for such small starts.

My grape vines and blueberry bushes didn't make it.

I visited Leahy's Greenhouse, a local greenhouse, a few weeks ago to buy a new rhubarb plant. After thinking about it I went back the next day to buy a second rhubarb and three blueberry bushes. The following day I added  2 red current bushes to the mix. Daddy was already planning to pick up my mess of plants. Then I called Mom and told her the number of plants had increased I asked her to let Daddy know the number of plants he was hauling. I didn't want him to be surprised. lol

We were finally able to attend Market today. Between a show, sickness and chances of rain Angela and I had missed the last four Saturdays. I sold a hat, a scarf I had just finished weaving in the ends and one skein of yarn. I have another scarf on the hook and need to dye some more yarn. The skein I sold was dyed using Osage Orange shavings. It made a neat mix of dark and light tones.

My sisters and grandniece and I are having a girls nite at Angela's house this evening. Homemade pizzas, ooey gooey butter cake, a. new Barbie movie for Jaidyn and a little crafting for the sisters ... should be a fun evening. [smile]

A Little Update

It surprised me to see I hadn't posted in three weeks. The month of June seems to have flown by until poof it's now July. Daddy told me as I got older time would become a fleeting thing and he was right!

One Friday evening in the middle of June Angela, Mom and Daddy did the Survivor's Walk at the Relay for Life event in Bedford. It was pretty special watching them walk arm in arm around that track knowing what they have gone through and what Daddy and Angela still face. Heather and Angela did the Caregivers lap. Because of the "boot" I wasn't able to make that lap, but halfway around the track Jaidy joined them so that was fun. Debbie and I sat in the bleachers for the most part but Deb did get a few photos.

Market has continued to be profitable for Angela and I. Her hats and felted bags are popular and my yarn is getting a good response. So yay!

This morning Jack, a fellow who sells beautiful wooden bowls at Market, gave me a bag of Osage Orange shavings. Before he tries a new-to-him wood Jack does a little research. He found that Osage Orange was a safe wood for his bowls and was once used by Native Americans to make a yellow dye. He thought I might be able to use it and brought it along this morning. The next time he uses Red Cedar he will save me another batch of shavings.

Natural dyes is something I want to explore this summer. Last year I dyed with Indigo but I really want to expand into things like native woods, plants and wild blooms. I'm looking for a Coleman type camp stove so I can continue to dye outdoors. Keeping my mess, and the heat, outside is always a good thing.

Please Angela in your prayers. She will begin chemo again a week from Independence Day.

Take joy,
Penny

More Eggs

So I was wrong when I posted all four of the chickens were laying eggs. It turns out only Cicely and Rosemary were getting with the program. I had a discussion with Tansy and Marguerite a week ago and explained that their free ride was about over. They had developed nice drumsticks and becoming a "Snack-Pak" was in their future. They beat the deadline of September 17th this morning. =)

Now if I can convince them to use the nest box and not the floor of the coop. Tansy is a big girl and even after I moved the box around she still squeezed her chubby self behind it. Silly girl.

Angela and I had a very successful Market Day yesterday. I sold two skeins of yarn, one of which is going to New Jersey. Angela sold over two dozen baby hats! It was crazy!! She also sold some felted bags including one she made from my indigo dyed yarn. The lady bought two other bags but kept going back to the ID one until she finally bought it. She loved the idea of the natural dyed yarn. Very cool!

Have a blessed week!

Snow Day

Yikes! My day off has turned into a snow day. South central IN is under a snow/blowing snow advisory from noon today until tomorrow afternoon.

Instead of running errands I stayed in my jammies until early afternoon but now I'm getting some laundry caught up and working on a few other household chores. Later I will sit down with the natural dye book I got on inter library loan.

The book, The Complete Natural Dyeing Guide, is out of print and I haven't found a copy I can afford to purchase. It's a fabulous book if you are interested in natural dyeing. Great photos and recipes for using many different plants, trees and shrubs.

I'll be spending the afternoon taking notes of the recipes I want to try and making color swatches using my Prism colored pencils and I may break out the watercolors too.

I love dyeing. It's so much fun to play with the dyes and see the colors emerge from the dye pots. I usually dye on a sunny day and hang the skeins on my front porch to dry. Folks driving by slow their cars to see all the colorful yarn hanging from the porch of my tiny cottage. I enjoy sharing my fun with the neighborhood.

Penny